Improvement in refining and puddling furnaces



S. M. FALES.

Refining Iron and Steel.-

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NITED STATES PATENT muon.

SQUIBE M. FALES, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN REFINING AND PUDDLING VF-URNACES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 32,280, dated May 14, 1861.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SQUIRE M. FALEs, of the city and county of Baltimore, and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bening and Puddling Furnaces; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved reiining and puddling furnace, and Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. f

Similar letters of reference in each of the several figures indicate corresponding parts.

My invention is designed particularly for use in combination with the smelting and rel flning furnace patented to me on the 8th of February, 1859, said furnace onsisting of a central smelting` chamber, a cone or stack, and side arches which allow the blast to circulate laterally and have passages in their top for the introduction of suitable iiuxes for rening the iron.

The nature of myinvention consists, first, in the combination, with my improved patented furnace, of a puddling-chamber, a secondary draft chimney or stack, and a divisionwall with draft-passage through it.

It consists, second, in the combination, with the puddling-chamber, perforated divisionwall, and draft-chimney stack or cone of the furnace, of a return pipe or passage,substan tially as hereinafter described.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. i

Thefurnace patented to me at the date above stated consists of a stack or cone, D,a central meltingchamber, B,with side arches, A,which have passages a through their top for the introduction of suitablev refining-fluxes. By thisarrangement, as described in my said patent, the blast is allowed a chance to expand laterally or to circulate in the arches before it rises in the cone of the furnace, instead of being compelled to pass, as with other furnaces, directly upward, and thus' having the blast circulate, has been found in practice to give greater efficiency to the furnace and insures a superior quality of iron. It also provides for the introduction of the refining-iiuxes at points where their effect will be most bcnecial. In operating with my patent furnace the advantage secured in the smelting `of iron andk its ores has been found so great, I concluded that byeXtending one or more of the arches and converting the extended portion into a puddling -chamber, D, by introducing a divis ion-plate at E, the advantage would be greater; but in order to employ the same heated gases which circulate in the arches to advantage for carrying on the puddling operation, I found it necessary to arrange the flow-off passage a and passages a2 a3 leading to the puddlingchamber at one side and on a level with the bottom of the Smeltingchamber; also to providea draft-passage, `b, near the center of the division-plate E, said passage being above the level of the bottom of the smelting-chamber; and, further, to erect a second stack or chimney, F, at the terminus of the puddlingchamber, said chimney communicating with the puddling-chamber by a draft-passage, c,

which is above the level of the bottom of said chamber; and, finally, to provide regulatingfining chambers the following advantages are obtained:

First. The iron can be smelted and refined, and while in a fluid state be allowed either to pass off or into the puddling-chamber.

Second. The escape heat from the fuel that is used for smelting and rening is drawn through the passage b of the division wall or partition by the draft of the secondary stack or chimney, and thus the iron in the puddling-chamber subjected to the very intense heat of the gases thrown off by the action of the circulating blastat the point where the fluxes are introduced. Thus employing the gases which are purest, fully ignited, and hottest, (on account of the fluxes being introduced chamber.

at the point Where they escape,) the puddling,

r boiling, or balling of the iron, or bringing it the passage b, and thus be ignited before they pass over the mass of iron in the puddling- It is very important to have the gases fully-ignited before they pass over the iron in the puddling-chamber, for if they are not the iron will partake of the impurities contained therein, and the result will be the production of an inferior quality of iron.l

Fourth. The action and course of the heated gases from thefuel in the smelting-furnace can be regulated by the dampers on the top of the two stacks or chimneys by simply closing or partly closing one and opening or partly opening the other, and vice versa.

A furnace constructed substantially as described, With the exception of the fioW-off pas sages a a2 ai" and return-flue G, (when not used for smelting,) answers admirably for annealing o1 reheating metals, as the heated gases escaping from the fuel of the chamber B are, by the draft of the secondary chamber, caused to circulate between and over the bars of metal placed in the puddling-chamber.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,`is-

l. The combination, With my improved pat- 'ented furnace bearing date February 8, 1859,

of a puddling-chamber, D, a secondary draft chimney or stack, F, and a division-Wall, E,

with draft-passage b through it, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. y

2. The combination, with the puddlingchamber D', perforated division-Wall E, draftchimney F, and stack or cone D of the furnace patented to me and bearing date February 8, 1839, of a return pipe or passage, G, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

SQUIRE M. FALES.

Witnesses:

W. H. HAYWARD, OREN SMITH. 

